WEF Predicts Metaverse Will Become Mainstream in the Future, Starting from the Industry

JAKARTA - The World Economic Forum (WEF) has predicted that the metaverse will first be accepted by industry, not consumers. In an article published on January 13, the organization believes that the metaverse implementation will be carried out at an industry level first, which will help different companies to complete design and monitoring tasks in a more efficient way.

WEF has identified two metaverse technologies that will become integral to the industry in this new phase, namely digital twin and augmented reality. The digital twin, the digitization of a group of elements derived from the real world, will allow testing the functionality of an element, or evaluating the possible inefficiencies of a production line, or simply prototyping a model without having to physically manufacture it.

Augmented reality, one of the other technologies mentioned in the article, will allow designers to mix elements from the real world with digital elements, to evaluate the interactions between the two. These technologies are already gaining acceptance by some companies, including automaker Renault, which unveiled its industry metaverse in November, aiming to save $330 million by 2025 with its implementation.

While there has been a significant focus on the consumer metaverse from companies like Meta, WEF believes it is the industry that will drive innovation. The article states that "we will develop many technologies for the industry metaverse that will fit into the consumer metaverse, from micro-optics and advanced haptic interfaces to AI sensing awareness." The organization believes that once these two distinct metaverses are formed, one will be able to enhance the other and vice versa.

The WEF recommends shifting focus from placing resources into the consumer metaverse, to placing them into the industry metaverse, which is already happening across a variety of sectors. The WEF has referred to the metaverse before, issuing recommendations for maintaining safety and privacy in the metaverse in May 2022, especially when including children as part of this environment.

In conclusion, WEF predicts that the metaverse will first be adopted by industry, not consumers. The organization believes that the implementation of the metaverse will be carried out at the industry level first, which will help companies to complete design and monitoring tasks in a more efficient manner.

The two metaverse technologies that will become integral to the industry in this new phase are digital twins and extended reality. While there is a significant focus on the consumer metaverse, WEF believes that industry will be the driving force for innovation.